Mount Bongao (famously known as Bud Bongao) is a mountain located on

Bongao Bongao, officially the Municipality of Bongao, is a 2nd class municipality and capital of the province of Tawi-Tawi, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 116,118 people. History Evidence of human presence in Bong ...

Island in the province of

Tawi-Tawi Tawi-Tawi, officially the Province of Tawi-Tawi ( tl, Lalawigan ng Tawi-Tawi; Tausug: ''Wilaya' sin Tawi-Tawi''; Sinama: ''Jawi Jawi/Jauih Jauih''), is an island province in the Philippines located in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim ...

. It is a mountain formed with six limestone pillars that serves as its six peaks. It is the Philippines' southernmost peak. Bud Bongao is inside the ''Bongao Peak Eco-Tourism Park'' that was inaugurated on July 3, 2017. It is a 250-hectare forest that is one of the last remaining moist forests in the Sulu Archipelago. The mountain is of spiritual and traditional importance to the indigenous Sama Dilaut people. The mountain is also considered sacred where it is believed that two Islamic preachers who were direct followers of Karim ul-Makhdum, are buried under what is called ''Tampat Rocks,'' although the site was already sacred even before Islam arrived. Karim ul-Makhdum brought Islam to the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

in the year 1380.

Physical characteristics

Bud Bongao is composed of six limestone pillars that form six of its peaks, which serves as view points for the islands and locations they are named after. These peaks are ''Bongao'', ''Pajar'', ''Sibutu'' (summit), ''Simunul'', ''Tambisan'', and ''Tinondakan''.

Biodiversity

Mount Bongao hosts one of the last remaining moist forests in the Sulu Archipelago. Monkeys

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found else ...

to Bud Bongao include ''

Macaca fascicularis The crab-eating macaque (''Macaca fascicularis''), also known as the long-tailed macaque and referred to as the cynomolgus monkey in laboratories, is a cercopithecine primate native to Southeast Asia. A species of macaque, the crab-eating macaque ...

''. The red dragonfly, orange albatross, mangrove blue flycatcher, Philippine pitta are found on the mountain. Bongao and its surrounding islands— Sanga-Sanga,

Simunul Simunul, officially the Municipality of Simunul, is a 4th class municipality in the province of Tawi-Tawi, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 34,245 people. Geography The municipality consists of 2 islands: the lar ...

—are also home to the vulnerable Tawi-Tawi forest rat and the

Philippine slow loris The Philippine slow loris (''Nycticebus menagensis'') is a strepsirrhine primate and a species of slow loris that is native to the north and east coastal areas of the island of Borneo, as well as the Sulu Archipelago in the Philippines. The sp ...

. The jungle flycatcher was once observed in 1973.

Hiking activity

Aside from being a sacred mountain, Bud Bongao is also famous for hikers. A 3,608-step cobblestone trail has been constructed from the jump-off at Barangay Pasiagan that ends at a view deck constructed on Tambisan Peak. The view deck offers a vantage point overlooking

Celebes Sea The Celebes Sea, (; ms, Laut Sulawesi, id, Laut Sulawesi, fil, Dagat Selebes) or Sulawesi Sea, of the western Pacific Ocean is bordered on the north by the Sulu Archipelago and Sulu Sea and Mindanao Island of the Philippines, on the east b ...

and

Tambisan Island Tambisan Island ( ms, Pulau Tambisan) is a Malaysian island located in the Sulu Sea on the state of Sabah. See also * List of islands of Malaysia A ''list'' is any set of items in a row. List or lists may also refer to: People * List ...

Sabah Sabah () is a state of Malaysia located in northern Borneo, in the region of East Malaysia. Sabah borders the Malaysian state of Sarawak to the southwest and the North Kalimantan province of Indonesia to the south. The Federal Territory o ...

at above sea level.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bongao Mountains of the Philippines Sacred mountains Landforms of Tawi-Tawi